A Sinner's Eden

***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***

***Astra***

“You look ill,” I said while I watched Thalia trying her best to keep the contents of her stomach where they belonged. “Is your travel sickness acting up again?”

Her face looked a little paler than normal and a slight sheen of sweat had formed on her forehead, making me worry. I couldn't help but imagine Thalia barfing all over some poor patient.

The thought made me shudder because it reminded me of the last time I had to help my friend through her travel sickness, also known as cleaning up after her.

It was only lucky that the sickbay wasn't too busy, even though we had just fought a major engagement. Alas, an airship battle meant people either came out mostly unharmed – or dead. There was little between the two states and command ensured that the few wounded we had were evenly split among the remaining ships after they reunited with the fleet transports.

“Just a little bit,” Thalia admitted.

“I thought you had no problem with airships. The last time you were like this was on the Caravaner’s saherna,” I commented while Thalia began rummaging through a drawer.

Thankfully, I had petitioned to be stationed with Thalia once it became clear that the two fleets were disengaging and nothing disastrous would happen for the next one or two hours.

However, whether it would stay that way was something only Gaia knew. If it was true that there was a large night-terror nest located right in Raider’s valley the coming night would be bad.

Skye would most likely order the fleet to go dark and hope whatever horrors emerged from the nest would go after the remaining Vier vessels first and eat their fill. To wish for other humans to get eaten was horrible, but they were our enemies and had called this upon themselves. It also meant we wouldn't have to burden our conscience with killing them.

“It’s not solely the fault of being on something that moves,” Thalia explained her woes. “Whether I get sick or not is about the constantly changing directions. The saherna was bad because of the constant walking motion. So far, the flagship avoided unnecessary manoeuvres, but during the engagement they had the ship moving around like a roller coaster! First here, then there. Just pick a direction and go with it!”

I pursed my lips, slightly amused at Thalia’s exclamation. “Maybe you just need something to distract yourself?”

“If it was that easy,” Thalia said before she found what she was looking for in the drawer, a small pot. She took it and a green paste was revealed once the lid was off.

A minty smell spread in the room as Thalia dipped a finger into the paste and spread a generous amount of the substance on a piece of bandage before she rolled the fabric up and held it under her nose. After a few deep inhales, she already looked a little less pale. It helped, if not by much.

“Where is your better half?” I asked.

She gestured at a curtain which separated a camp bed from the rest of the room. “Sleeping his travel sickness off. And I am the better half between the two of us! How could you think otherwise?”

I grinned. “Don't get too full of yourself. Anyway, are you sure you should be here at all if you are sick? Shouldn't you go through the wormgate and sit this one out?”

Thalia huffed and sat down on a nearby field bed. “Even if I perform only at fifty per cent, I am still a better healer than most.”

We kept bantering in good nature till a warrior showed up and informed us of the lockdown I had already anticipated. The ship would moor with the rest of the fleet to ensure juggernauts could travel between ships without needing drakes. This made it impossible to manoeuvre, but if the worst-case scenario came true, running wasn’t an option anyway. If the nest beneath us already had flying variants, they could easily catch up with us.

Once the ships were linked with each other to ensure nobody got lost in the dark, they would close hatches and windows to prevent light from getting out.

Then the only thing left to do was to hope and wait out the night.

There were no illusions in my mind that I would get any sleep – which wasn't too bad. My mutations allowed Magnus and me to go with a few sleepless nights. A stupid, lecherous grin stole itself onto my face as I remembered how helpful that was.

Once I realized what I was doing, I quickly schooled my expression.

“By the way,” I steered the conversation in a different direction to put my mind on other things. “We haven't talked about what you got with your latest mutation! You only gave us a very basic idea, but shouldn't you know for sure by now? I was under the impression the white monster would improve you a lot. It certainly was a hassle to catch it – even if that Vier ancient did all the work for us.”

Thalia sighed. “No, not really. I mean, there are definitive improvements to our strength and Precognition, but otherwise, it looks like the white night-terror was only just that, an improvement. The only other thing I noticed is that I can eat more and a lot faster without feeling bloated.” She shrugged and took a metal spoon from the nightstand. Then she casually folded the spoon's cup the other way with an audible 'pop' and an inquisitive expression on her face. “I probably shouldn't complain. I am finally no longer a psychic one-trick molerat.”

I took the spoon from her and tried to bend it back, but didn't manage to do so with Thalia's casual ease. I managed it only on the second attempt, using both thumbs.

“Haha!” I raised the spoon, but my triumph was interrupted by a ship-wide alarm, which finally caused Mark to wake up.

He grumbled and got up, immediately reaching for his bow and checking the presence of a spiked club on his belt. “Are they coming?”

I checked the UI, but there were no new updates. “No. We are to remain in position until ordered otherwise.”

Having three juggernaut-classed individuals guard the sick bay was overkill as far as I was concerned, but those in charge decreed it so. They likely wanted to ensure that the injured had a safe evacuation spot.

“Where is Magnus?” Mark asked once he had checked his messages, his eyes flicking around in that typical manner of people interacting with their UI.

“He wanted to test the new toy Gilbert made for us, so he requested to be put somewhere with guaranteed action.” I rolled my eyes and touched a thumb to my battery backpack. “If he hadn't gotten a lot better with his battle-mania, I wouldn't have allowed him to go.”

“You mean you would have complained and he would have gone anyway?” Thalia teased.

“I mean I would have pushed all the emotional buttons and he would have stayed with me so I wouldn’t get upset,” I corrected.

The night continued for us in a thankfully boring manner as alarms were raised and people were brought in for treatment. Thalia and the other staff got busy and no longer had time for idle chit-chat when an entire group of wounded came in all at once.

Then the UI was suddenly spammed with warning messages. It looked like the flagship had been breached in several positions at once – and some of the monsters were running rampant inside the ship!

***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***

***Magnus***

I moved down the dark corridor with a slight skip in my step and a chuckle on my lips. The corridor was abandoned, evacuated to be exact. If the messages were correct, then one of the intruders should be right around the next corner, so I hopped over the mangled body of a crewmember, taking note of the fist-sized hole in her forehead.

Finally, a chance to test the new equipment. It had been months since the last time I got my ass whooped by a monster. Since then, I got a new mutation increasing my strength across the board, and my equipment was improved! The skirmish against those airships didn’t count because it was just hit-and-run tactics against opponents who couldn't put up a fight.

Since wielding a spetum in this narrow corridor wasn’t practicable, I put the large weapon on my back where I fixed it with a few filaments.

Then I took my axe and went for a test swing as I rounded the corner.

I had been forewarned that these night-terror things would be different from the white ones I encountered so far.

Once I saw it with my own eyes, all I had been told wasn’t enough to prepare for reality. The corridor was dark, but my Second Sight had no trouble identifying the creature.

Like its ground-bound brethren, the skinny creature had bipedal proportions with extremely over-dimensioned arms. Its forelimbs were long enough to reach the ground, which allowed for a strange gait. It mainly used the legs, but also incorporated the clawed arms at times when it seemed opportune.

The thing looked like it had escaped straight out of a horror movie. There was nothing but bones, skin, and muscle to it with a bloated ribcage for the organs.

It chittered and half ran, half hopped towards me. The creature was fast, but far away from its white brethren. The thing wasn’t built for fighting in enclosed spaces. Unlike the white ones, this variant had bat-like membranes spanning between all its limbs. The head was a little more elongated, giving it a hound-like vibe.

I got caught a bit off guard when it stopped its approach and whipped up a clawed arm, causing my precognition to tingle. More out of instinct than knowing what would happen, I dropped to my knees mid-run and bent backwards, barely dodging the unfolding multi-jointed arm with a bone spike at the end. What I had mistaken for clawed hands were in truth protrusions on the thing’s elbow.

My shoulder pauldron deflected the attack upwards, but the force behind it was enough to make me grunt and spin around to compensate.

One of my sub-personalities berated me for not listening to its previous warnings, pointing out that the creature's wingspan was much too small to allow it to fly and that there had to be a trick to it.

Completing the spin I hacked upwards with my axe, cutting the membrane and the arm, which elicited a loud shriek from the creature. It got only more vocal when I added an electrifying touch to my attack. The electricity stunned my opponent for long enough to reach and spike it with an armour blade through the chest.

Then I let loose with everything I had, lighting up the corridor and the creature’s innards with enough force to have the light shine red through its darkened skin.

It kicked out, throwing me back, and then I had to dodge its second arm spike as it tried to spear me. This hunting style reminded me a lot of mantis shrimps. Without doubt deadly if I allowed it to hit, but once the cat was out of the bag it was a predictable attack.

Not counting the bone spike attack, I found my opponent to be far slower than I expected from a night-terror. So I went to work with my axe, only to get foiled once more when the night-terror slammed into me using its entire body as it tried to bite my head off. It had realized that spearing me wasn’t as easy as with its earlier victims.

My axe went flying, but I managed to grab the monster’s maw by creeping several filaments around its head before I dug my index fingers into the large, hateful eyes. It didn’t like that very much, especially when I started grilling its brain.

A few seconds later all that was left was an electrically animated body twitching on top of me. Just to make sure it didn’t play dead, I drove an armour blade through its chin and up into the night-terror’s brain.

The thing’s muscles relaxed and suddenly its entire weight was on top of me. Cursing, I rolled it off to the side. “Those things put up a fight! I wouldn’t want to face two at once.”

“No wonder if you charge right into one like some lunatic!” Elijah kicked the monster out of the way and grabbed me by the scruff of my armour, pulling me up and setting me on my feet like some child. He also placed my axe back in my hand as if he had to look out for me so I didn’t lose my toys. Normally, I would be indignant at such a treatment, but the huge Caravaner had managed to earn my respect.

He was a competent fighter and could also enjoy the euphoria of combat. He wasn’t a man of the sciences, but that was okay. Another person didn’t have to share all one’s interests to be a friend.

“I thought they would be similar to the grounded versions I met so far,” I justified charging the enemy with abandon.

“Ah, don’t assume so much in the future. Assumptions can kill you.” Elijah corrected the grip on one of his knuckle-dusters as two more night-terrors rounded the corner. “The flying ones are slower because they are old, but they are also a lot stronger and sturdier. And don’t expect that all of them use those spikes, nor that they are all on the same power level. The mother fuckers mutate, given enough time. There is no way to tell what variants might have formed if the nest was allowed to survive for long enough.”

“Yeah…” I pulled a throwing dagger from my belt and charged up a decent throw, minding the fact that I was on an airship and unleashing projectiles at full power would probably cause more collateral damage than it was worth. “Since there are two, I will soften them up.”

***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***

***Astra***

“Stay back!” I screamed and drove my spear through the hole in the door, causing a shriek of pain from the other side before the spear was grabbed and a tug of war ensued. It ended when I electrified the weapon, causing another indignant shriek.

There were three of the monsters on the other side. If the reports in the UI were to be believed, they went to us in a relatively straight line after breaching the hull. The smell of blood in the sickbay had probably attracted them.

An arrow whisked past my head, followed by another shriek as I flinched away. “Watch it!”

“Sorry!” Mark apologized as he drew another arrow on his monster of a bow. I didn’t know the draw weight, but it had to be a lot since it was a custom product made especially for Mark. “Just don’t make any sudden movements and you will be fine. I am still working on this Precognition thing.”

“Just don’t shoot while someone is between you and your target! Gaia curse it!”

A creepy arm reached in through the hole and tried to undo the heavy-duty beam lock on the door, so I stabbed it.

The arm withdrew and a moment later the entire door caved in as something huge threw itself against it from the other side.

I steeled myself and was ready when a night-terror came crashing through the door. Aiming carefully, I caught it right through the mouth as it charged into the sick bay with no concern for injury. It must have been dead as soon as the blade of my weapon severed its spine, but the monster’s momentum kept driving it forward and into me – throwing me back.

Mark’s arrow caught the second creature charging into the room right through the eye, ending it instantly.

The third entered the room uncontested, its intimidating size forcing Thalia to move a step away from her spot next to the door before it turned to her and roared terrifyingly, spittle flying all over the place.

My friend's expression turned quite strange as she got a whiff of the night-terror's breath, her short sword already raised to chop something off the enemy. For a moment, it looked like Thalia would keep it together before she spectacularly lost the fight.

Bending forward slightly, she hurled out an impressive spray of strangely black stomach contents, covering the two metres between her and the monster. It looked like improved musculature also increased the pressure build-up when vomiting.

Vomit went everywhere. The monster's face, mouth, and upper chest were generously dosed, startling the monster and causing it to inhale some due to the shock.

The moment of mutual surprise ended when white vapour began to rise from the creature's skin and it let out a pitiful howl of pain. It dropped, rolled, and clawed at itself in an attempt to get off the stomach acid. All the monster tried only made it worse as it spread the black, oily substance around. The wooden floor also hissed and blackened rapidly. A mere droplet was enough to cause a violent reaction.

A second later, an acrid smell reached my nose, forcing me to retreat as far as I could.

The medical team who had retreated to the back of the room reacted. Some doctor cursed and quickly ran over to the ventilation system while covering his mouth and nose, turning it to full power. Another scrambled to get over to the wall with emergency equipment, choosing something which looked like a fire extinguisher but had a chemical hazard label on it.

She aimed it at Thalia and the monster before dousing both with a generous amount of some kind of foam which also blackened and sizzled upon contact with Thalia's vomit, neutralizing each other.

The night-terror was only a twitching body on the floor by that point. Its torso was a wasted mess covered in black, bubbling sludge.

“What the fuck?” I exclaimed, still unable to breathe through my nose because of the sting.

“Fluoroantimonic acid!” Thalia exclaimed while looking down at her ruined clothes. What little vomit ran down her chin had dissolved her shirt and created a quite risqué V-cut. Thalia's well-endowed chest was consequently celebrating its newly won freedom.

“What?” I kept repeating myself.

“Fluoro-” Thalia began before the doctor with the fire extinguisher sprayed foam right into her face, not allowing even the slightest remnants of acid to remain untouched.

“No talking! Get into the shower and throw away the clothes afterwards! We have to clean this up! Don't you dare vomit a second time!” The doctor sounded quite serious.

“What is going on?” I asked once more.

The other doctor turned to me. “I don't know for sure, but it smells like Fluoroantimonic acid. One of the strongest known acids and very toxic.” He pointed at the quite dead night-terror. “It's not as dangerous as deathnut oil, but we still have to check everyone in here whether they can withstand it.”

I looked around. “Seems like everyone is still up.”

He shook his head. “We just inhaled a bit of the vapour. That might be enough if someone can't metabolize it. As with everything, the amount makes the poison. And if your body can’t deal with it, you could still bite the dust hours later.”

“Ah…” I tried to see something positive about this. “Looks like your mutation wasn’t just a ‘mere’ improvement.”

Thalia groaned. “Fuck my life.”